Finding Trust by Natalie Gayle – Book Feature/First Chapter

Harlie’s review of Finding Trust will be on Tuesday, April 30th and you don’t want to miss it. 🙂

BLURB:

Finding Trust – Book 1 Centre Games Series

Brayden and Rihanna

He’s hot, sexy, and leads a double life. Sometimes in the limelight, mostly in the shadows. Brayden James holds fast to a secret that’s more than his to share.

She’s a singularly focused veterinarian out for a rare night of fun with friends, at a New Year’s Eve rock concert. Going home with the lead guitarist was furthest thing from Rihanna Mason’s mind when the night began. When Rihanna inadvertently becomes the target of a deadly terrorist plot using the Hendra virus as a biological weapon, Brayden is forced to reveal his other life. His job is to keep her safe and together they must stop the terrorists before it’s too late.

But what happens when she becomes more to him than just the assignment? Will the secret he cannot disclose ultimately prove too much for Rihanna’s fragile trust in relationships? Or will he finally break through the double brick walls around her heart, where every other man has failed?

Please find the intros to the first three chapters of Finding Trust. Enjoy! 🙂

Chapter One

When he moved slightly forward to the microphone and joined in the chorus with “Taaake me baaabyyyyyy , maaaake me yours tooonight,” her eyes moved up to meet his and he knew he had her attention. Bingo! She held his gaze momentarily before becoming self-conscious. Her eyes slipped from his and began to look out into the endless gyrating waves of revellers around her. So she was a little unnerved by the directness of his gaze.

Her eyes returned to his and again he held the connection. Minky, as he thought of her now, broke the connection again. So she wasn’t sure if he was looking at her. Well, he thought, let’s make sure you’re not confused any longer, Minky. The next time her eyes returned to his face, he raised his eyebrows and openly smiled at her. Yep, it’s you I’m interested in tonight, sweetheart.

The guy on Minky’s left reached for the sliding door on the side of the van when a voice came out of the shadows.

“Let her go and I’ll consider letting you live.”

Excitement rained through her. It was music to her ears but at the same time left no doubt as to the menace and cold hard intent of its owner. The owner of the voice stepped forward from the shadows and Rihanna immediately recognised him as “her man.” Relief tentatively began to rise in her heart.

Chapter Two

He continued on, changing the subject before she had too long to linger in her thoughts about the attack. “Also, I have to admit that I noticed you out there, thought you were hot, and that I would like to know you better.” Well, that was the truth. He’d just omitted a key part. He couldn’t help the fact that she was his latest assignment.

The thick dark lashes blinked slowly as she looked up at him. “You think I’m hot?”

It was a question. She knew she was okay to look at. People didn’t run screaming from her approach but “hot” just wasn’t in her vocabulary. She was a practical person and didn’t dwell on looks or too much primping. She understood the need to be properly presented but she was not obsessed about how she looked.

“Honey, any guy with a pulse would think you’re hot.”

He added a big open smile that just about had her heart jumping out of her chest. Wow! This guy was more potent than global warming!

“Want to get out of here?”

“What do you mean?” she asked suspiciously.

“What I mean is you and I get up, walk out of here, and head somewhere else. The option of that somewhere else is up to you. We can either head home to your place or we can head back to mine.”

At the suggestion, Rihanna’s heart began to race again. Her thoughts turned to hot steamy bedroom scenes at his open suggestion of heading out.

God, she was sooo tempted.

Chapter Three

She immediately felt the warmth from his body provide a protective link with hers. He reached up and gently brushed the falling tears from her cheeks. Only then did she realise the tears and sobs were still flowing from within. He carefully reclined them back against the mound of pillows and held her as she sobbed. He reached over to the box of tissues on the bedside table and offered her a handful. She took them gratefully.

Rihanna woke from a very sound, dreamless sleep to find herself very comfortably wrapped in Bray’s large, solid body. She was laying on her right side and his firm chest and abdomen where a wall of warmth down her back. His left arm was loosely holding her to him. It was only when she slightly moved and he closed his left hand did she realise it was cupping her right breast.

An instant jolt of desire swept through her and settled tightly between her legs. Instinctively, she wriggled backward, moving even closer to his warm body. Her sweetly curved butt bumped directly into the solid evidence of a very turned-on male in the morning.

His warm breath nuzzled across her left ear and caused the wispy hair to flutter. “Do that again, sweetheart, and I’m going to forget my manners.”

In a voice that didn’t seem to be hers, she replied, “I think I just might like you to forget your manners.” He groaned and rolled away.

The stark reality of what she had said hit home. She had just issued a full wanton invitation…and he’d turned her down. What on earth was wrong with her? She didn’t have sex with men she had known for less than twelve hours, did she? Oh God, how embarrassing.

When he had her full attention, he said, “There’s nothing embarrassing about asking for a little attention.” His voice was soft and almost caressing. “If I knew you better and circumstances were different, I’d act on this attraction that we both clearly feel and give you all the attention both of us evidently want.” He emphasised the word evidently.

He drew her attention momentarily from the directness of his clear blue gaze by glancing to the clearly outlined erection in his dark grey mini cotton bike shorts. The fact that he purposely disclosed his very obvious arousal provided an equalling factor between them. “But for now, we need to take things steady, and you need to be thinking with a clear head.”

He must have contemplated too long because she pushed harder. “So are you going to tell me or not?” He could easily pick up from her body language and tone that the “not” part was something she wouldn’t tolerate.

“Rihanna, what I’m going to tell you could be a bit out there.” Her beautifully curved eyebrows shot skywards at his remarks. “So I would appreciate it if you would give me the chance to fully explain.”

He must have contemplated too long because she pushed harder. “So are you going to tell me or not?” He could easily pick up from her body language and tone that the “not” part was something she wouldn’t tolerate.

“Rihanna, what I’m going to tell you could be a bit out there.” Her beautifully curved eyebrows shot skywards at his remarks. “So I would appreciate it if you would give me the chance to fully explain.”

BIO:

I recently discovered those school vocational assessments are really interesting and probably correct! Who would have thought, hey? You see, I clearly remember taking one of those in Year 11 (for my US friends, I think that equates to junior year in high school). Anyway, semantics. Well, the results came back indicating that I should pursue a career in writing and something else. What that something else was I can’t remember but the writing thing stuck in my mind. Sure, I’d always liked English and had already developed a ravenous appetite for romance novels by the age of sixteen—but who becomes a writer straight out of school? So to cut a long story short, I went to Uni and studied Business and ended up managing large-scale IT projects shortly after. I can’t complain: it’s been a great career. I’ve done some awesome projects and met some incredible people and I won’t be giving it up anytime soon. Anyway, I’ve messed around with a couple of “secret” novels over the years and I finally decided to get serious and finish one. Hence “Finding Trust” came about. And about twenty years later, I’ve finally proved a vocational assessment correct, because I love writing! As to some other stuff about me: I live on the Gold Coast, Australia. I love spending time with my family and friends. When I’m not sitting behind a screen playing with IT or writing, you might find me down the beach playing in the waves on a Jet Ski or a bogey board (both are uber cool). When the weather turns a bit cooler (doesn’t really happen on the Gold Coast), we like to head for the snow. I’ve discovered I have two kids who are kamikaze skiers—they must take after their father. He’s always at me to “release the handbrake.” Apparently I’d ski so much better. I call it a healthy understanding of self-preservation and gravity! I like to think I can fit in a few workouts and martial arts classes each week. This tends to be a figment of my imagination more than reality, unfortunately. I am trying to remedy this, but those damn characters just keep demanding to have their stories told and, well, there’s always another good book to read! I hope you enjoy mine. Please drop me a line. I’m active on Facebook, Twitter, and via email Natalie@nataliegayle.com.au. I’d love to know what you think of my books and well, let’s be truthful—I love talking about books, whether they’re mine or someone else’s. Fiction is just so much more fun than reality!!! Happy Reading Natalie Gayle